A/HRC/24/26 III. Human rights bodies and mechanisms A. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 40. The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples held its fifth session in July 2012. It discussed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including an interactive dialogue with a representative from the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. The Expert Mechanism adopted its final report on its study on the role of languages and culture in the promotion and protection of the rights and identity of indigenous peoples, including its advice No. 3 (2012) on indigenous peoples’ cultures and languages and advice No. 4 (2012) on indigenous peoples and the right to participate in decision-making, with a focus on extractive industries. The study, together with a number of proposals made by the Expert Mechanism, was presented to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-first session in September 2012, which included an interactive dialogue with representatives of the Expert Mechanism. 41. In February 2013, OHCHR organized an expert seminar on access to justice in the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in cooperation with the Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights and the International Center for Transitional Justice. The main objective of the seminar was to obtain additional substantive input to the thematic study of the Expert Mechanism on access to justice in the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, to be discussed at the sixth session of the Expert Mechanism in July 2013. 42. The Expert Mechanism undertook a number of intersessional activities, including participation in preparatory meetings on the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, in the Forum on Minority Issues and in the twelfth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues. The Expert Mechanism also briefed a number of the human rights treaty bodies on its work and especially its studies related to the rights of indigenous peoples. 43. OHCHR has also played an active role in the efforts to raise the profile of indigenous peoples in the context of the Human Rights Council, including through its support to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and by organizing, during the twenty-first session of the Human Rights Council in September 2012, a Human Rights Council panel on indigenous peoples’ issues, devoted to indigenous peoples’ access to justice. 44. Furthermore, OHCHR provided support to the members of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in their engagement with activities associated with their work throughout the year, including attendance at the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights; the consultation by UNESCO about engagement with indigenous peoples; the Forum on Business and Human Rights, and preliminary meetings associated with the organization of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. Through such contributions, the Expert Mechanism helped to enhance the visibility of indigenous peoples’ rights in these forums, in particular their right to participate in decision-making. B. Special procedures 45. The various activities that the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has carried out in the past year fall within four areas of work: promoting good practices, thematic studies, country reports, and responding to cases of alleged human rights violations. With respect to the development of thematic studies, the Special Rapporteur has made continued progress in his ongoing study on the issue of extractive industries affecting indigenous peoples. He has attended numerous workshops to gather information and exchange 10